After All
by valele
Summary: Ness, one-shot, featuring NickJluv4eternity. Tess wasn't such a bad person after all.


**Alright, this would be another Ness I'm doing, because I like them. This will feature NickJluv4eternity, the only person that got the right answer to the trivia question. I mean, seriously, guys! Shouldn't you know this stuff? Anyway, from now on, all trivia questions will be about my stories, so you need to read them to know the answer!**

Tess never let anything ruin her.

So how did her Final Jam performance end up so messed up?

It wasn't a very complicated question, really.

She knew exactly what happened.

Or more like, _who_ happened.

You want to know?

It was Nate.

Nate Black, member of Connect 3.

Nate, with the curly hair and cute nose.

Nate, with the gentle smile.

With the killer sense of humor.

Yes, _that_ Nate.

It was the day before Final Jam.

She had a tradition of going to the dock.

And watching the sunset.

And trying to call her mom, of course.

She did that every year.

The day before Final Jam.

And it usually worked.

This year, trying to call her mom?

It was the same as always.

"Sorry, hon, I have a show to do,"

She would say.

She always said that.

When Tess' first tooth fell out.

She wasn't there.

When she first broke a bone.

She wasn't there.

When she first got her period, even.

You know what she said?

"That's nice, hon. Buy some tampons, okay?"

That's what she said.

But Tess knew that deep down, her mom loved her.

It had to be somewhere.

And she wanted to find it.

Part of the tradition every year was breaking down.

After the unsuccessful phone call.

No one ever saw her.

Her spot was pretty secluded.

Except this year, Nate was there, too.

He hadn't been there the entire time.

He only heard the phone call.

Then saw Tess crumble to the ground.

He rushed to her side.

He was worried.

She was crying really hard.

Too hard to even care someone saw her.

She held on to him.

And he didn't let go.

Once she calmed down, she looked at him strangely.

"What?"

He asked when he saw her looking.

"Why aren't you asking what happened?"

She asked.

"Because it's your decision to tell me or not."

He said.

She nodded.

Maybe telling him…

It might not be so bad.

And so she did.

She told him everything.

And in return, he held her.

While she talked.

While she cried again.

He held her through it all.

He convinced her being mean wasn't helping her.

And she believed him.

She thought that everything he said would be true.

Because it seemed like it would.

Why was she mean, anyway?

It may seem like a stupid reason.

But her mom always told her to.

She would say that to be successful,

you needed to get rid of your competition.

That was why she was mean.

She thought that maybe,

just maybe,

being mean would get her mom's attention.

"Hey, mom, look at how popular I am!"

She always wanted to say.

But even being mean

didn't change anything.

Her mom ignored her just the same.

Tess didn't like being mean.

But she was used to it.

And she still wished it would work.

Even if it didn't.

She told Nate all this.

And he nodded.

That was when they were interrupted.

Someone was calling Nate.

"Hey, Nikki,"

He said.

Tess frowned.

Who was Nikki?

Nate saw her confused look.

"This is Nikki, my sister,"

He told her.

Nikki smiled sweetly.

She seemed like a nice kid.

"Nate, mom called,"

She told him.

After she did, she left them alone again.

And Tess turned to him.

"Your mom calls you?"

She asked.

Nate nodded again.

He nodded a lot.

"She tries to call us every day,"

He answers.

Tess sighed.

The next day, it was Final Jam.

Peggy and Ella left her right before the performance.

But Tess understood.

She wouldn't want to perform with herself.

But she had to.

She got out there.

Nate was sitting at the judges' table.

He smiled reassuringly.

Tess took a deep breath.

And started her song.

She saw her mom at the last row.

And her heart felt like it was going to burst.

She was here!

She'd come to see her!

It was weird, performing without Ella and Peggy.

But she dealt with it.

She had to prove to her mom how good she was.

_Ring, ring._

Went her mom's phone.

Tess heard it.

And saw her mom getting up.

Throwing her an apologetic look.

She was too busy looking at her mom,

to realize the stage ended there.

So she tripped.

And everyone gasped.

Nate almost got up.

He was worried.

Tess' mom left then.

And Tess ran off the stage.

Collapsing in tears backstage.

She decided that was it.

She wasn't going to suffer so much for her mom anymore.

She wasn't even that fond of singing.

All this time, she did it for her mom.

But she was done.

Done with this façade.

Done with pretending.

She apologized to Peggy, Ella, Mitchie and Caitlyn.

They deserved it.

After Final Jam, she went to her spot.

Where she and Nate had been talking the day before.

It didn't seem like a bad place to be anymore.

She heard steps behind her.

Turning around, she saw Nate.

Nate, with the curly hair and cute nose.

She smiled at him.

Standing up, she grabbed his hand.

Gently, she placed it behind his neck.

She pulled him closer to her.

And kissed him.

He was surprised.

But he kissed her back.

He didn't know what he'd done.

But whatever it was, it worked.

Tess wasn't such a bad person after all.

**Okay, so thoughts? Sorry if it dragged on. Kind of feels like it does. Anyway, review, please!**


End file.
